Losing Rights of Way
A case decided recently has confirmed the position whether or not you lose a right of way just because you have stopped using it.
The case involved a house bought in 1975. The previous owners of the house used a track to get to their backdoor on the northern side of their house. When the new owners moved in however, they moved the backdoor to the west of the property and erected a fence, making it impossible to use the old right of way. A developer bought the neighbouring land, and argued that the right of way over the track had been lost as it had not been used for 30 years.
The courts ruled that a right of way is not lost simply because it is not used. There must be an intention to abandon it. So, if the new owners wished to remove the fence and resume their right of way they were perfectly entitled to do so.
This is good news as a right of way is a valuable thing in law, and people do not normally wish to give it up unless it is to their advantage to do so.
If you want more information the case concerned is Williams v Sandy Lane 2006
Claire Nunes
Cambridge Property News - May 2007
Cambridge Property News articles
Every week, Claire Nunes, head of our conveyancing departments writes in the Cambridge Property News magazine. Here is a selection of those articles: